Posted by Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?
My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Rednod, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks), Hugh McGuire (The Book Oven, LibriVox, iambik, Media Hacks) and I decided that every week or so the three of us are going to share one link for each other (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".
Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:
- Cooking for Engineers… recipe infographics! (and interview) – Cool Infographics. "I came across the Cooking for Engineers blog a few years ago, and was immediately impressed with this unique way of documenting a complex process. Now the guys at Cool Infographics have deconstructed Michael Chu‘s approach, and published an interview with him. I’m amazed that more processes that involve the assembly of components (think books, computer systems, or surgery) haven’t adopted this approach." (Alistair for Hugh).
- Digital Art@Google: DJ Spooky. "This hour-long video with Paul Miller is a glimpse into the mind of an artist living at the intersection of music, technology, and art. (Sidenote: his track Little Bullet influenced a generation of DJs and producers, showing that trance didn’t have to be insipid candy floss). Find an hour and listen to him talk about cargo cults, the environment, bamboo, and stop-motion photos." (Alistair for Mitch).
- Screwed up incentives in higher education – Top Hat Monocle. "What’s wrong with university education? Lots, and you can blame it on incentives." (Hugh for Alistair).
- Siblings Share Genes, But Rarely Personalities – NPR. "Research into why it is that siblings – who share genes and an environment when they grow up – are not much more likely than random strangers to have similar personalities." (Hugh for Mitch).
- Binary Breakthrough – The New York Times Sunday Book Review. "The origin of the computer is one that is rarely heard or told… until now. ‘John Vincent Atanasoff, a physicist and mathematician who invented the computer largely out of frustration. Anyone who has studied calculus knows that solving differential equations is a tedious process: labor- intensive, error-prone, slow. That process grows more arduous as equations grow more complex, and by the 1930s, as Smiley recounts, the difficulty of calculation was impeding scientific advancement. In response, Atanasoff designed a machine to do what his own mind could not. ‘I did not want to search and invent,’ he confessed, ‘but sadly I turned in that direction,’ reads the article. The only thing more fascinating than reading this book review will be reading the actual book." (Mitch for Alistair).
- Can It Text? Blog? Tweet? No. It’s a Book. – GeekDad. "Is technology making our kids stupid? Or is technology going to kill some of the most cherished things (like books) that have made us who we are? Here’s a new picture book for very young kids about books. ‘It’s a story about a tech-obsessed donkey, a book-loving monkey and a mouse. Think of it as the digital vs. paper book debate, but for kids. A few of us have written in favor of e-books or dead-tree books before, and I’m sure the debate will continue for some time. Smith, not surprisingly, comes down firmly in favor of books… well, at least compared to laptops, which is what the donkey has,’ states the Blog post. Just wait until the donkey gets his hands on an iPad and some of the Dr. Seuss apps." (Mitch for Hugh).
Now it’s your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.
Never another podcast episode or article 
DJ Spooky is great – but just one artist who influenced a generation of producers that trance doesn’t have to be cheesy. Just FYI – it’s not limited to that one track 😉
Good links, thanks Mitch.
This week I was thrilled to discover that the annual TED conference, something I’ve been inspired by for years online, is now being extended to communities worldwide.
As Malcolm Gladwell’s said (and has been criticized for)… creating strong ties offline is important. I agree to a large extent; and it’s events like these (and Petcha Kutcha) that create a greater sense of community and deepen relationships. They reveal opportunities, inform, facilitate dialogue, energize change, and inspire innovation. And that is good news.
172 TEDx events took place in 53 countries last month. Find (or start one) near you! http://www.ted.com/pages/468
Joanne
ReadyGo Media
My link is from Tom Peters (@Tom_Peters). I love the message and his passion.
Strategy: Hold ’em and Fold ’em.
I’ll let Alistair know… it was his link and I’m a self-admitted heavy rock guy, so I never even dipped a pinky-toe into that world.
Also remember that many of these strong ties start off as weak ties and that’s where these online channels really work well.
Tom Peters sits at the very top of my list of people who influence me and those I consider a true mentor (even though he and I have only met a handful of times over the years).
His book, The Brand You 50, was given to me by Andy Nulman and that sent me on a decade-plus adventure of non-fiction and business book reading that hasn’t stopped.
Great point, Mitch.
Weak ties can grow strong… Especially with key interests in common. Doesn’t have to go offline but it can.
I met a local industry professional on twitter and we’re having coffee this week. Many people I never would have known or connected to others without twitter.
You know what they say about “first steps.”
I’ve never had the chance to meet him, but hope I do someday. He’s one of the reasons I started a blog this year.
This quote finally put me over the edge:
“No single thing in the last 15 years has been more important to me professionally than blogging… It’s changed my thinking, it’s changed my outlook… it’s the best damn marketing tool and it’s free.”
He is – without question – one of the top presenters (business or otherwise) in the world. Make a point of catching him speak live.
Like you, I enjoyed “It’s a Book.” Good fun, and not defensive.
Interesting you would just recently pick up on an August 10 Wired entry. It took me a month: blogged about it in early September after a friend alerted me (http://thefutureofpublishing.com/blog/2010/09/its-a-book/).
The eBooks vs. printed books argument becomes tiresome because it makes people choose sides, and do so vociferously. But as David Pogue pointed out last week in the New York Times (and which I didn’t blog about until last night, http://thefutureofpublishing.com/blog/2010/11/head-to-the-new-york-times/) “Some people’s gadgets determine their self-esteem.”
I was defensive about the onslaught of the noisy eBook-loving hoards until I relearned the old conjunctive “and.” Instead of “either” or “or.” It’s not printed books OR eBooks. It’s printed books AND eBooks. Celebrate, as David Pogue also does, that “the history of consumer tech is branching, not replacing…There will be both printed books and e-books. Things don’t replace things; they just add on.”
In another recent blog entry I considered the notion that in fact it may be the ostensibly fully-wired kids of today who protect printed books in the future (http://thefutureofpublishing.com/blog/2010/10/the-kids-wont-let-me-burn-my-books/). Quoting Ross Dawson: “A critical issue is the physical space that books take. Some have tried to get rid of all the book (sic) in their house, but find that their children then don’t have books around them and are looking for them.”